After the craziness of the past couple of days it felt amazingly good to get out in his suit and swing through the city again. Even though the night was pretty empty so far – he'd stopped two muggings and helped a woman who'd been lost in the wrong part of town – being out here was still amazing. It was a feeling Peter knew he'd never get tired of. Moments like these were when he knew he wouldn't ever give up the role of Spiderman. It was too much a part of who he was. He didn't know how he'd live a life without it anymore.

Though admittedly, it was a little strange working tonight, knowing he had an audience. One that he couldn't risk watching or talking to.

Only once or twice had Peter even caught sight of Spencer. For someone who was new to their powers and pretty new to flying with them, he was proving pretty damn good at hiding out. It was pure luck that Peter managed to catch a glimpse of his light once or twice out of the corner of his eye. Hopefully, just because he'd seen it didn't mean that Karen had seen it. Or Mr. Stark.

That had Peter grimacing a little as he landed on one of his favorite rooftop perches. This was a great place to sit and wait and listen for any sort of trouble around him instead of just blindly searching. As he settled down on the edge of the roof, one leg dangling down and the other curled under him, he sighed a little to himself. Aunt May said they had to respect Spencer's decisions when it came to telling Mr. Stark or anyone about him. "He's a grown man trapped in a kid's body in a world that isn't his" May had said. "We've got to respect his choices, baby, not take them away from him."

It made sense. Peter couldn't imagine what it felt like to be an adult and then be forced back to being a teenager; especially one that looked even younger. Most people looked at teenagers and saw someone who wasn't a kid but still wasn't capable yet of making adult choices. If he were Spencer, that'd be the last thing he'd want to deal with. Plus, well, it wasn't like the fear of being discovered, of something happening to him because of all this, was exactly unfounded. Peter wasn't stupid. He knew there were mutants that just 'disappeared' off the streets. There were lots of groups out there that were happy to get their hands on someone with powers. Make it a person who not only had powers, but who was young and who technically didn't exist? Yeah, no. Peter could understand Spencer's fears completely. He knew there were some serious threats out there. Hell, he'd met Deadpool, he'd heard some of his story. That right there was enough to convince him of just how dangerous these groups could be.

But Tony wasn't like that! He'd help them, Peter knew it. He was always willing to help Peter with things. Ever since the fiasco that had been the Vulture, Tony had been a whole lot more involved in Peter's life, often texting him personally instead of having Happy take care of things. He'd help Peter and Spencer.

It wasn't his choice, though. Peter reminded himself of that as he gave another scan of the area around him. He folded his arms on his knee and bent down to rest his head there. This was Spencer's life and Spencer's choice. Peter had to support it, even if he didn't like it.

Someone gave a pained shout off in the distance. The sound of it had Peter's head snapping up. "You hear that, Karen?"

"Indeed, Peter." Karen answered him. "It appears to be coming from twelve blocks east of here. Plotting quickest route."

A grin split Peter's features. "No need." With a laugh, he pushed himself off the building and let the air flow around him in an exhilarating fall before he shot out a web and caught himself, swinging off in the direction of the noise. There'd be plenty of time for introspection later. Right now, he had a patrol to do and people to help.

The night's patrol ended just a little bit earlier than it usually did. All things considered, Peter was pretty pleased at how the whole thing had gone. No one died, no one was even seriously hurt, and the bad guys had been webbed up and left there for the police, who he called from the criminals' phones. Peter was grateful nothing more serious had happened while Spencer was around. Despite his whole 'I'm only going to watch' thing, there was no doubt in Peter's mind that he would've tried to step in if he thought that Peter needed the help. That thought probably shouldn't have made Peter feel as good as it did.

So all in all, it'd been a good night, and Peter swung home rather happy. He'd caught the bad guys, helped some people, and he hadn't made a fool of himself even once.

He may or may not have tried to show off a little bit. If Spencer wanted to come out and see what he was doing, the least Peter could do was put on a show for him. He tried to move a little more gracefully, make his quips a little better, things like that. Just so Spencer would see he could handle himself, though! That was the only reason.

Somehow, he didn't quite believe himself.

Peter was the first one to make it home, and he was already out of his suit and in his pajamas when Spencer came in through the window. The fact that the guy was wearing a Halloween ninja mask and a cosplay jacket didn't really deter from the whole 'dark and dangerous' look that he had going. Though the clothes couldn't change his size, they hid away all the parts that showed who Spencer really was and it made him look, dangerous. That really shouldn't be a good thing, Peter thought to himself.

As soon as Spencer was on his feet and straightened up, he pulled the hood back and the mask off, showing the smiling face underneath, and just like that any hint of being dangerous was gone. There was no way someone could think Spencer dangerous. Especially not as he beamed at Peter. "Peter, that was absolutely amazing! You were magnificent out there!"

Color heated Peter's cheeks. He dropped his gaze and reached one hand up to rub sheepishly at the back of his neck. Showing off was one thing. These kinds of compliments were something else entirely. "Ah, thanks?"

"You're welcome." Spencer pulled off the cloak next and went to hang it up in the closet. He never just dropped things on the ground the way that Peter did. "I was both terrified and impressed in equal measures."

"Terrified?" Why was he terrified?

Spencer turned around to face Peter now that the jacket was hung up. It left him in dark clothes, which didn't quite suit him. The look on his face, though – Peter wasn't sure what it was. Just that it was sort of soft, and maybe a little bit understanding. "In my line of work, I've seen some dangerous things, Peter. Things that I wouldn't want even another adult to witness. I know that you're physically equipped to for this, and after tonight I've seen how well you handle things, but I don't…" Pausing, Spencer chewed on his lip and twisted his hands together in front of him. Worry and nerves were practically radiating from him. Literally. Though Peter hadn't told him yet, it seemed like Spencer could project emotions as easily as he felt them.

Suddenly a bit nervous himself, Peter stuffed his hands in the pockets of his pajama pants. "You don't what?"

Spencer sighed. He looked older in that instant. The eyes that were looking at Peter weren't that of a teenager. They were the eyes of someone who had seen a lot and maybe, just barely survived it all. "I don't want to see it break you the way it does everyone, eventually."

There was an edge to those words that made Peter want to shiver. He drew his arms in a little and, for once, didn't have an easy quip ready. This didn't feel the same as being told he was too young to do this. Sure, he knew his age was a factor in Spencer's mind. But this? This felt different than that. Unsure because of it, Peter shuffled a little. "You seem to be doing fine," was the only response he could think of.

He wasn't expecting Spencer to smile at that. "You think so?" His tone made it clear just how amusing the idea of that was. The emotions coming off of him got just a bit darker, taking the air from Peter's lungs, before it drew back in. Peter forgot about it a second later at Spencer's next, blunt words. "I broke, Peter. Years and years ago, I broke completely. I almost let the job destroy me. And every time I started to pick myself up, something new knocked me back down. I was just lucky enough to have someone close to me who helped steady me long enough for me to find my feet again."

Peter felt like his mouth had gone dry. The room was colder, the wind from outside sending goosebumps over Peter's skin. Yet he made no move to close the window. He just stood there, staring at the person in front of him who he could finally, easily believe was just as old as he said he was. "Spencer," That was all Peter could get out. He had no idea what else he could even try and say.

He was lucky; Spencer took pity on him. His smile shifted into something that was a whole lot more real. "It's okay, Peter. I've come a long way since then. I wasn't trying to get pity or make you feel sorry for me or anything. I guess I was just… I saw what you could do out there, by yourself. Just, maybe don't always try to be by yourself. It sounds like you've got people in your life who want to help you. Be there for you. Don't push them away, Peter. Let them help you. That's… that's all."

As if the conversation had been a little too much for him, too, Spencer hurried out of the room. His absence gave Peter a chance to recover a little from the impact of those words. They'd struck home more than Spencer probably realized. Letting people in, it wasn't easy for Peter, despite how easily he'd taken to Spencer. Being friendly was one thing. Relying on someone, letting them help him, letting them shoulder some of the burden that he felt was his and his alone, that was different. But… he was trying. With Mr. Stark, he was definitely trying. Tony didn't exactly give him much choice. He'd made himself at home in Peter's life and wasn't giving any signs of leaving. It was getting easier and easier to believe that the man was going to keep on being there, too, the longer that he stayed.

Peter pushed those thoughts away when he heard the toilet flush in the distance. Spencer was going to be joining him, soon. So as not to be caught still standing there, Peter hurried to scramble up into the top bunk and under the covers. He had just settled in by the time Spencer came back.

Lying on his back staring up at the ceiling, Peter listened as Spencer stripped down and changed into pajama clothes and then climbed into bed. There was the sound of fabric shuffling and a soft little sigh right before the shuffling stopped. Peter recognized the sounds of someone finding a comfortable position to lay in. Spencer's breathing was slowly starting to even out into a relaxing rhythm without slipping down into sleep.

It was weird, just how easy and comfortable Peter felt lying there with someone else in his room. He barely even knew Spencer at all, yet in the past few days that they'd had him here, he'd found himself surprisingly close with the guy. The only downside to this whole thing was the need to cover everything up and hide it from the one person he really didn't want to lie to.

Thinking of Tony had Peter grimacing. Hopefully nothing had been visible on the video tonight. He really didn't want to have to answer those kinds of questions. Maybe if he could just get away with not saying anything and not actively lying…

"You all right, Peter?"

Spencer's question startled Peter out of his thoughts. "What?" Then the question registered and he tried not to sigh. Oh, right. Hanging out with an empath. He was probably lying down there feeling Peter's emotions go up and down. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, Spencer. Just… just thinking, that's all. Which reminds me!" Rolling over in bed, he grabbed the railing and leaned himself over enough that he could look down at Spencer. His vision was good enough to easily see the curious look on Spencer's face, even if the street light outside hadn't added a low light to the room. "I've got to go out and see Mr. Stark tomorrow to go over a few upgrades and do my weekly check-in. You gonna be okay while I'm gone?"

Eyebrows shooting up to his hairline, Spencer gave him a dry look that had Peter holding in a chuckle. "I'm fully capable of entertaining myself for a few hours, Peter, thank you."

The words were just as dry as the look that Spencer had given him. It was clear he wasn't impressed by even the implication that he was incapable of being alone. Peter had a feeling it wasn't just the whole 'being younger' thing, either. He'd noticed pretty quickly that Spencer didn't like any implication that he might be weak. Peter recognized it because it was a feeling he had himself often enough. Because of that, he knew better than to push or even try explaining what he'd really meant. Peter just held his hands up briefly before he drew himself back up over the railing and flopped back in bed.

They were laying there in the quiet for a little while, neither one of them talking but not sleeping yet, either. It was just a comfortable sort of silence that Peter rarely got with people. There was no charged edge to it, no worrying about saying or doing the wrong thing, no silly conversations or even some of the odd debates that he and Ned got into at night. Just, quiet. It was nicer than Peter had thought it could be.

He was so relaxed in it, he was actually surprised when Spencer broke it.

"This Tony Stark… he's important to you, isn't he?"

The way that Spencer asked made it clear just how serious he was being. He wasn't talking about just like, how Tony helped with his suit or things like that. There was a hint of emotion to his voice. A sort of tone that people took when they talked to him about his parents, or about Uncle Ben or Aunt May – who were more parents to him than anyone else ever had been, at least that Peter could remember. Any other time, maybe even with any other person, Peter might've tried to deny that tone. He might've gotten flustered and blushed as he stammered out some sort of unintelligible answer. But in his dark bedroom, with Spencer a calm and easy presence below him, it didn't seem so hard to murmur a low "Yeah"

The room fell quiet once more. This time, neither one of them broke it.